Contact device.



L. W. CHUBB.

CONTACT DEVICE. APPLICATION man age. 26. 1913.4

1 ,162,571 Patented Nov. 30, 1915.

WITNESSES: 5N

VEQUUR g @AWM UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS W. CHUBB, OF EDGEWOODPARK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 WESTINGHOUSEELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CONTACT DEVICE.

Specification oi Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 30, 1915.

Application filed December 26, 1913. serial No. 808,747.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LnwIs W. Cruise, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Edgewood Park, in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvanla, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Contact Devices, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to contact-making and breaking devices, and it hasparticular reference to devices of the.anti-vibrating tv e.

I The object of my invention is to provide a contact-making and breakingdevice having contact members which Will not rebound after engagementhas been effected.

In various devices embodying separable contact members considerabledifliculty has been experienced in obviating sparking but thisdifficulty has been partially overcome by connecting electricalcondensers across the terminals of the devices. However, the use of anelectrical condenser in this manner tends to cause the contact-membersto fuse together, if they rebound after the impact, by reason of thecharging and discharging of the condenser. To overcome the difiicultiesattributed to the rebounding of con tact members, I provide a contactdevice which prevents the separation of the contact members afterengagement has been effected.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic view of a contactdevice embodying my invention and Figs. 2 and 3 are diagrammatic viewsof modified forms of contact devices embodying my invention.

members 7 and 8 of Referring to the drawing, I provide an electromagnet1 having a pivotally mounted armature 2 which is resiliently connectedto a member 3 by a spring 4. The member 3 is supported by one terminal 5of the contact device 6. 1

With reference now particularly to Fig. 1, the contact device 6comprises three resilientlyv supported members 7, 8 and 9, the Y whichare supported from the terminal 5 by flat springs 10 and 11,respectively, and the member 9 is resiliently supported by a flat spring12 from avmember 13 that is mounted on the movable armature 2. Themembers 8 and 9 constitute the main contact members of the device. Thespring 4 is insulated from the support 3 to prevent its acting as aconductor of electricity.

Referring to Fig. 2, the member 13 and the resili ntly supported contactmember 9 are eliminated and a contact member 14 is mounted directly onthe movable armature 2 of the electromagnet.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 3, the res liently supported member 7is eliminated, Wlllle a tube or cylinder 15, supported by the member 3,and a piston 16 are provided.

From the fundamental laws of impact in kinetics it is known that, if twoelastic bodies of equal mass are in engagement and a third elastic bodyof the same mass strikes one of the two in a direct line, one of thestationary bodies will move away with a velocity equal to the velocityof the striking body and, since the momentum of the system remainsconstant,the striking body and the one struck will remain at rest and ineffective contact.

It is upon the above fundamental law that my invention is based and itsoperation is as follows: Normally, the movable armature 2 is attractedby the electromagnet 1, the spring 4 is tensioned and the deviceassumesthe position substantially shown in Fig. 1. en the electromagnet 1 isdeenergized, the spring 4 draws the armature 2 upwardly to effect apercussive engagement of the contact member 9 with the contact member 8,which is mounted to move in substantially the same straight line withthe member 9 for a relatively short distance. As explained hereinbefore,the velocity of impact of the contact member 9 is transferred to themember 7 through the contact member 8 and the member 7 movesupwardlyleaving the members 8 and 9 in effective engagement. The upwardmovement of the member 7 is retarded by the spring 10 which stops thesame and reverses the direction of its movement. By the time the member7 is returned by the action of the spring 10 to strike the contactmember 8, the core member 2 has moved farther upward and the'springs 11and 12 are sufiiciently compressed to hold the contact members 8 and 9together with such force as to prevent the impact between the member 7and the member 8 from causing a disengagement of the contact members 8and 9. Hence, there is no rebounding of the contact members and nowearing away of the surfaces by reason of the arcing which would be aresult of such rebounding. On energizing the electromagnet, the lowercontact member is quickly drawn away from the member 8, which remainssubstantially stationary.

Referring particularly to Fig.2, the armature 2 flies upwardly when theelectromagnet 1 is deenergized to effect percussive engagement of thecontact member 14 with the contact member 8 and cause the member 7 to bethrown out of engagement, substantially as hereinbefore-explained. InFig. 3, the operation is similar to that hereinbefore described in that,when the electromagnet 1 is deenergized, the armature 2 moves intopercussive engagement with the contact member 9 and causes it to engagethe contact member 8 and the piston 16 to move upwardly in the tubeon,cylinder 15, which is so constructed that the height to which thepiston 16 rises is limited. Before the piston 16 can fall, the end ofthe tube 15 is closed by a further upward movement of the contact member8 anda dash pot action results which prevents suflicient impact betweenthe piston 16 and the memher 8 to cause the contact members 8 and 9 tobecome disengaged.

The conductors 17 and 18 in the several figures, are connected to thecircuit which is completed when thecontact device operates. Theelectromagnet 1 may be replaced by any form of operating device that isdesirable. 7

While I have described my invention in connection with apparatus ofdefinite forms of construction, I desire it to be understood thatvariations in size, form and construction and means of operating thesame may of course be made within the scope. of the I appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A contact-making and breaking device comprising two relativelymovable members which are normally separated, a third relatively movablemember normally in contact with one of said two members, means forinsuring s aid normal separation, and means for efiectmg a percussiveengagement between sald normally separated members when the insuringmeans becomes inactive.

2. A contactmaking and breaking device comprising three similar movablealined members two of which. are normally in enbers upon the sideopposite to that engaged by the other contact member, the said con-,tact members and the said body being of substantially equal mass.

4. A contact making and breaking device comprising relatively movablecontact members, means for causing said members to engage and disengage,and a non-resilient movable body in alinementwith said members andnormally engaging one of them, the said body being caused to disengagethe one contact member when the latter is engaged by the other contactmember.

5. A contact making and breaking device comprising relatively movablecontact members, means for causing said members to engage and disengage,and a body normally engaging one of the contact members upon the sideopposite to that engaged by the other contact member, and meansforsupporting the said body whereby it is permitted to move out ofengagement with the one contact member when the said members are broughtinto engagement. I

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 19th dayof Dec.,

. v LEWIS W. GHUBB.

Witnesses;

O. W. A. OE'I'IING, B. B. Hmns.

